BIRMINGHAM and Greater Manchester should be linked by a new railway to replace the cancelled plan to build High Speed 2, say Mayors Andy Street and Andy Burnham following analysis from a group of specialists under former HS2 Ltd Chairman Sir David Higgins.
A statement from the West Midlands Combined Authority said: “Although more detailed work is still to be done ahead of final conclusions this summer, the group has provisionally concluded that a new line - running approximately 70 miles between HS2 at Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh - is likely to offer the best combination of costs and benefits.”
Parliament had approved construction of HS2’s Phase 2a between the West Midlands and Crewe, before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled it last autumn. This prompted the two mayors to convene a team led by Arup (and including Arcadis, Addleshaw Goddard, EY, Dragados, Mace and Skanska) to examine alternatives.
Earlier this year, they said that three options existed: significantly upgrade the West Coast Main Line; build bypasses around WCML bottlenecks; or build a new line from Handsacre to Manchester Airport.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “When the Prime Minister made his decision to cancel HS2 North, he said he would welcome proposals from me on how to better connect the Midlands and the North - and that’s what this work is doing.
“Although only provisional findings, it is clear that a new line between Handsacre and Manchester Airport is the best option for improving connectivity, and the most attractive option for significant private sector involvement.
“Not only do we have to solve the congestion on the West Coast Main Line and the M6, but we also have to rethink how we tackle major infrastructure projects in this country. That’s exactly what this work is looking at, and I hope the final conclusions will help shape the future of our country.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham added: “It’s becoming drastically clear that the existing West
